Harbord

JCJ, Chad and I headed to Harbord because, well, it has been going off recently. And I'll write more when I'm on a machine that can keep up with my average typing speed, because this delay is pissing me right off. For now I'll simply say it was warm but green and it was alright despite losing Chad under water. More to follow.

Right, where was I? Yesterday...better than today...the cyclone up north has started to influence our water conditions here and the news in these parts is that all of Sydney's Northern Beaches were closed today. You could sit on the beahes but no getting in the water as the surf was up and we took a bit of a clobbering. Yesterday it was building form the NE when we were out and about.

The three of us entered the water form the poolside channel as the front was already too lumpy. The water had looked great from the carpark but it was a bit green when we got in. We had maybe 4-5m vis, a bit better on the rocks and bit worse on the sand. The dive plan was vague...well, no existent really. So it is hardly surprising that after about 15mins we lost Vinnie (the Chad.) We'd been over te klp near the entry and spotted heaps of small stuff that made the site look a bit like a nursery dive. Over the kelp and near some rock gutters I gazed around to see JCJ but no Vinnie. Odd, as Vinnie had been closer to me than JCJ and I look around and check frequently. JCJ and I shrugged at each other, conducted a search for a couple of minutes, surfaced (further out than we thought we'd be; the reef extends a decent way off from the point) an inveitable did not find Vinnie. He's not big on surfacing upon separation and tends more toward reunion at the carpark as the separation plan.

JCJ and I descended and continued the dive, figuring we'd have a better chance of finding Vinnie on the typical Harbord route. As it happens we didn't. We turned a few minutes earlier than we would usually. The dive was good enough. There were still heaps of fish about and the highlight - a very large squid. But after we lost the big fella I spent more time looking for him than for fish so I didn' have a great time. JCJ and I exited after about 45mins and Vinnie was a few minutes later, predictably sporting his "nah, all good" look as we asked where the fuck he'd go to.